The Tecno Pova Curve 5G, available at a base price of approximately Rs. 16,000/- ($200), offers a premium look and excellent performance. It has excellent points like a curved display, a 144 Hz refresh rate, smooth gaming, and more. However, I’m on the Techywood team, testing this phone extensively for a month, and we’ve noticed some issues. We can share our entire experience in this review. After completing the review, you will have a clear idea of whether to buy it.
Techywood Rating
- Pros
- Both front and rear curves, a lightweight, convenient design
- 6.75” AMOLED Display with 144 Hz Refresh Rate
- The 64MP rear camera can record videos in 4K at 30 frames per second (fps).
- MediaTek Dimensity 7300 Ultimate processor
- 15+ AI Features of Tecno AI
- Cons
- The Tecno HiOS requires optimization.
- In-camera video stabilization needs optimization in 4K.
- Needs to resolve its heating
- It has Dolby Atmos, but it could have been louder.
There are some pros and cons highlighted; apart from that, the Tecno Pova Curve 5G can offer a pretty excellent user experience if its HiOS is optimized or the bloatware is removed.
Tecno Pova Curve 5G: Key Specifications
Before we begin the review, take a quick look at the key specifications of the Tecno Pova Curve 5G.
Specs
Tecno Pova Curve 5G
Dimensions
164.3 x 74.6 x 7.5 mm (6.47 x 2.94 x 0.30 in)
Weight
177g (6.24 oz)
Processor
Mediatek Dimensity 7300 Ultimate (4 nm)
RAM/Storage
128GB 6GB RAM, 128GB 8GB RAM
Storage Type
UFS 2.2
Display
6.78 inches, 109.9 cm2, 1080 x 2436 pixels (~393 ppi density), AMOLED, 144Hz, 2304Hz PWM, 1300 nits (peak)
Rear Camera
64 MP Main, 2 MP Depth
Front Camera
13 MP Selfie
Video Recording
4K@30fps, 1080p@30/48fps
Dual SIM
Yes; Does not support eSIM
Connectivity
Dual 5G, Wifi 6, NFC
Battery & Charging
5500 mAh Battery & 45 Watt Fast Charging, 10 Watt Reverse Wire Charging
IP Rating
IP64
Software
Tecno HiOS is based on Android 15. 1 year Android Update, 2 Years Security Patches
Tecno Pova Curve 5G: Box Contents
You get all the essentials in this box. Take a look.
Tecno Pova Curve 5G
Tecno 45W charging adapter (India-only)
Tecno Type A to C cable (100 cm)
Silicon transparent case with black tint
Safety and warranty cards
Screen protector (not provided)
SIM tray ejector
Tecno Pova Curve 5G: In-hand feel, build, and design.
You will love its modern design the first time you see the Tecno Pova Curve 5G. And when you hold it in your hand, its metallic middle frame, along with the curves on its back and front, gives you a premium feel. It is only 7.45 mm thick, which is reportedly the thinnest phone ever. Being so thin makes it even more beautiful. You get a unique textured pattern on its rear panel, which gives you a gamer vibe. Additionally, due to the matte finish on its back, fingerprints do not appear on it.
Even though its middle frame and rear panel are made of polycarbonate, it still feels solid in your hand, and when used for a long time, it feels pretty light due to its weight of only 177 grams. The Tecno Pova Curve 5G features an IP64 rating, which protects your phone from dust and water splashes.
Tecno Pova Curve 5G: Display
The Tecno Pova Curve 5G features a 6.75-inch Full HD+ 3D curved AMOLED display panel with a 144 Hz refresh rate, protected by Gorilla Glass 5. This display panel is also used by other brands, such as Moto and Lava, which customize the hardware according to their devices.
Similarly, the display of the Tecno Pova Curve 5G features minimal bezels, and its viewing angles are also excellent. And when the Techywood team started watching Hollywood movies on it, some notable differences were observed, such as the colors being slightly enhanced and the contrast being higher. However, most people are likely to appreciate these vibrant colors.
Regarding brightness, the Tecno Pova Curve 5G achieves a peak brightness of 1300 nits. It is barely visible outside in the harsh, direct sunlight, but in standard lighting, its visibility is excellent.
It provides Widevine L1 security, the highest level of protection within Google’s Widevine DRM (Digital Rights Management) system, which enables the highest possible video playback quality, including HD, FHD, and 4K, on platforms such as Netflix and Amazon Prime Video. It plays 4K HDR videos on YouTube.
Tecno Pova Curve 5G: Speakers
Now, let’s talk about the speaker quality. The Tecno Pova Curve 5G features Dolby Atmos with dual stereo speakers, one placed at the top and the other at the bottom of the phone. When you play a video or an audio song, the speakers’ loudness and bass are lower, as compared to Lava Agni 3 5G, as I tested in the past. But the sound clarity is excellent.
Final verdict: according to its price point, “which is less than Rs 20,000 (US$200),” its overall speaker quality is acceptable.
Tecno Pova Curve 5G: Performance & Gaming
When discussing performance, brands typically opt for a single standard processor with some minor tweaks and UI optimization for use in mid-range phones. Here is the same MediaTek Dimensity 7300 Ultimate chipset. When we tested the benchmark using Antutu, Geekbench results were excellent, and Throttle Test results were average.
The chipset handles all your day-to-day tasks, providing a smooth experience with no lag or stutter, even when running multiple apps in the background. And use a camera for long-term video photography; it will start to heat up.
Apart from that, the gaming performance is excellent. It provides support for smooth graphics with an extreme frame rate and HDR graphics with ultra frames in BGMI, as well as very high graphics with very high frames and low graphics with ultra frames in Call of Duty.
However, after our Techywood team extensively tested gaming on the Tecno Pova Curve 5G for an extended period, we noticed some issues.
- When you start any game, it starts heating up simultaneously.
- Sometimes it touches but doesn’t respond appropriately. This is only seen in gaming. And sometimes
- Sometimes its battery drops only 10 to 15% around 1 hour of gaming, as well as sometimes it drops around 25%.
These are some performance issues we have noticed. Apart from that, the performance of the Tecno Pova Curve 5G is excellent. Suppose Brand provides an optimization update and resolves these minor issues. We are sure it’s a budget segment killer.
Tecno Pova Curve 5G: Software Experience
OS and UI are the specialties of any smartphone. It decides device functionality and user experience.
However, the Tecno Pova Curve features HiOS paired with Android 15, offering 1 year of promised Android updates or a 2-year security patch update. It has a significant amount of bloatware, most of which is removable. You can uninstall it, and a notable benefit is that it doesn’t display any recommendations like HyperOS.
Its HiOS is a feature-rich UI that offers numerous features, settings, and more. It also provides over 15 AI features, known as Tecno AI. We provide a complete demonstration of these Tecno AI features on our YouTube channel.
These are the cons of this UI, but when we use the screen recording to record mic audio or system audio, it becomes problematic during gameplay or in everyday use. It usually doesn’t record audio properly. Its main problem is audio synchronization.
Tecno Pova Curve 5G: Device Security
For device security, it has both an in-display fingerprint sensor and Face Unlock.
The fingerprint sensor works perfectly, and so does the face unlock. My suggestion to the brand is that if the fingerprint sensor’s position is quite upward, it’ll be more comfortable.
Tecno Pova Curve 5G: Some Special Features
It features some exceptional capabilities that are available in select devices. Suppose you want to control your home appliances, such as the TV and AC; it can be done. It has an IR blaster on top and uses the IR remote app. You pair your device and use it.
Tecno Pova Curve 5G: Network Connectivity
The Tecno Pova Curve 5G features dual 5G, Wi-Fi 6, NFC, and more. When we tested the 5G speed using Airtel 5G, we found that it performed excellently in my area, Indore.
Tecno Pova Curve 5G: Camera and Videos
Let’s take a look around the camera. The Tecno Pova Curve 5G gets a dual rear camera setup and a single selfie camera. 64MP Sony primary shooter, which is capable of shooting 1080p at 30/48 fps and 4K at 30 fps. The 13MP front selfie camera also provides the same video shooting capabilities, including 1080p at 30/48 fps and 4K at 30 fps.
In the default camera UI, you get some amazing AI features, as well as standard features like AIGC Portrait, Video, AI CAM, Portrait, Super Night, Slow Motion, Dual Video, Vlog, Time-lapse, Panorama, Sky Shop, Pro, and Documents.
When you capture an AIGC Portrait picture, it captures four photos and then generates a new image using AI. Using Sky Shop, you can change the sky in different ways. Let’s take a look at some camera samples.
When it comes to video quality, it provides smoothness in videos. Slightly vivid color tones and using 30 fps to 48 hi-res fps, we didn’t see any visible difference. However, when you switch to 4K at 30 fps, it provides a lot of detail in videos due to the stabilization. It also experiences a frame drop when shooting a fast-moving video in 4K. 1080p at 48 frames per second (fps) is sufficient for videos.
The same situation occurs with the selfie camera; without stabilization, it’s smooth, but with stabilization, it gets frame drops. It’s a software issue; the software brand can fix this with a software update.
Tecno Pova Curve 5G: Battery & Charging
Despite the slimmer aesthetics, Tecno hasn’t reduced the battery capacity of the Pova Curve 5G, which remains 5500 mAh. If you are scrolling reels, bingeing videos, and using it for day-to-day tasks, it gets around 1 or 1.5 days of backup. But, on heavy use, it lasts only 8 to 10 hours.
For charging, it takes only 1.5 hours to reach a full charge using its 45-watt fast charger, which is included in the box. It also supports 10-watt reverse wire charging, which is used in emergency situations to charge another phone with this Tecno Pova Curve 5G reverse charging technology.
Techywood: Final Verdict
Summarize the review: It’s a value-for-money phone if the brand can address its minor glitches, such as frame drops in the camera and touch response issues while gaming, and optimize its UI, as well as remove unnecessary bloatware.